A Fair Chance at Life: Why equity matters for child mortality

A Fair Chance at Life makes a powerful case for placing equity at the heart of efforts to tackle child mortality.

This new research compares mortality rates of poor children and rich children in 32 countries. In many countries that are successfully reducing child mortality, progress is concentrated among the poorest and most disadvantaged children. Conversely, in countries making slow or no progress, disparities in life chances between children from the poorest and richest backgrounds tend to be extreme.

The evidence is clear. Prioritising poor children is one of the surest ways to make the progress on tackling child mortality that is so urgently needed.

This report identifies four key lessons for policy-makers in developing countries, and highlights what the international community must do to put equity front and centre in efforts to cut child mortality.